November 18th, 2019
Miles: 4
With long drives ahead and work days to follow for most tomorrow, we’re all up and packed with first light, eating bars on the go. There’s a last group photo, then we hit the trail at a racing to town-day pace. Despite the general sense of hurry, I can’t help but pause at the basin overlook where the sunrise is hitting the far peaks in perfect symmetry to our sunset beginning just a few days ago. Big Bend has exploded my high expectations and I simply can’t wait to return to this corner of the universe.
GEAR THOUGHTS:
Lighterpack: https://lighterpack.com/r/z6dn4f
Atom+ My new pack continued to excel, carrying the water weight at least as well as my old ULA Circuit; In fact, I think the narrower design kept the bottles in my side pockets closer to my core (I’m narrower than your average human). The VX21 held up to all the spines and thorns without a scratch. And that teal makes me ever so happy.
Purple Rain Skirt My bare legs fared less well. If you’re sticking to the basin / South Rim, the trails are much better maintained and no problem for exposed skin. But the lower reaches of the Juniper drainage and the Dodson zone are another story. My beloved hiking skirt acquired a good handful of new snags and a half-inch tear (I think that is new?). But acquiring new pants for a weekend trip just to have them tear didn’t seem like a good alternative either (though no one else reported holes that I know of?). This is also why I still do not own pants. [EDIT: I finally ordered some pants] And, TMI, but my post-pregnancy bladder is another vote for skirt. So, yeah, I would probably do the same again, but be sure to put my (already had a few holes from years of use) wind pants on as soon as the scratchy sections begin.
Water Capacity My 3.75L capacity was plenty given the following conditions: (a) reliable reports springs were running via Big Bend chat; (b) leaving a water cache a Homer Wilson Ranch; (c) mild winter temperatures; (d) enough desert hiking experience to know I need less water the average hiker; (e) not being worried about my period. The most I actually carried was 3.5L and I always had enough. YMMV.
Tent/Sleep System My tent fly was just along for the ride. With basically zero bugs and critters in camp, and so many stars to see we had prime cowboy camping conditions the whole trip. But I’m too risk adverse to not bring a some kind of shelter. My old zpacks 10 degree (which acts more like a normal 20 degree) worked fine with all my layers on and I would do the same again. Please note, I am a very, very cold sleeper. Thin-light pad was a must with the polycro + neoair inflatable pad combo as the Dodson zone is so, so spikey.
Bringing a Stove I’m going to continue to go with hot food/beverage options for winter trips. If only because the nights are so darn long and sipping warm beverages is a lovely way to pass some of the dark hours. The cold-soakers obviously made it just fine, but the general consensus was that warm options were very nice to have indeed.
Clothing/Insulation Despite basically being winter, with temps ranging from 30-70ish degrees, we had pretty standard (and gorgoues!) 3-season conditions and I dressed accordingly. Do check the forecast though, as it can get much chillier and do the snow/freezing rain thing. Those without puffies definitely felt the morning chill, but made it OK. My feet stayed surprisingly clean for desert hiking. One pair of hiking socks and one pair for sleep was totally fine. There is enough sand to make gaiters more than a fashion statement.
GPS/Navigation Enough people in the group had Gaia or CalTopo so I got away with just a free park map on my phone. In retrospect, this what a bit irresponsible so I will download a proper map next time. Otherwise, buy the NatGeo map the park suggests and pay attention to the Cairns. InReach Mini – a great device, but not really necessary in a group /with phone service and multiple trailheads. Having a toddler at home + heading into the desert with strangers from the internet were good reasons to carry it anyway.
Headlamp I got the hot food for winter thing right, but was less successful in the lighting department. Have I night hiked with a puny Petzl eLite before? Yes, many times. Is the Nitecore NU25 really is that much better than a Petzl eLite? Also yes. So much so, that my eLite was rendered pretty much useless by the surrounding glow of my more illuminated companions.
Adventures in Natureculture 